A Running Commentary

Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple (Downtown/Atlantic)
Producer: Danger Mouse
Rating 3.5 of 5
Top tracks: A Little Better, Open Book, Whatever, Who’s Gonna Save My Soul,

Cool, but not Crazy

Follow-up albums are tough. Fleetwood Mac followed up their 1977-benchmark album Rumours by spending over $1M (in 1979 dollars) to produce Tusk, which their label considered a failure when it sold a mere 4 Million copies. Today, with retail sales on the ebb, great albums are measured as much by their ubiquity as units sold. Gnarls Barkley’s multi-platinum debut St. Elsewhere succeeded on both counts, with the infectious single “Crazy” setting the impossible to match bar at ‘instant classic’. Let’s face it; successfully following up an omnipresent single is a rarified ability known to few writers.

Yet, despite the predictable absence of a resplendent, genre-bending single, The Odd Couple as an album is a definitive step forward. The main draw is Cee-Lo Green, whose dichotomist vocal powerfully meshes gospel and vice; a refreshing glass of ice water poured over dry, raspy gravel. Throughout the album, the singer effortlessly ranges from the ache of personal longing on “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul”, to perfect sarcastic wit on “Whatever” (“It’s cool, it could be better; I don’t care, whatever”). On “Open Book”, Cee-Lo powers up the pipes in a grand, theatrical style akin to his impressive performance of “Crazy” at the ’06 Grammys.

As expected, Danger Mouse’s sure handed production is beguiling, though the cutting edge is becoming somewhat dull from use. What was new and refreshing on Gorillaz’ Demon Days (2005) and Gnarls’ St. Elsewhere is eminently cool, if not a bit expected after his work on The Good The Bad & The Queen (2007 with Blur/Gorillaz founder Damon Albarn). The multi-layered, long note vocal approach on tracks like “She Knows”, for example, are heavily reminiscent of his work with Albarn.

That said Danger’s writing is excellent and at times expansive. “Run (I’m A Natural Disaster)” comes off as a fun, frenetic update of Judas’ sassy performance in Jesus Christ Superstar. “Blind Mary” impressively marries Danger’s trademark distorted vocal treatment with a melancholy pop tune ala the wall-of-sound 50’s.

One never knows if a songwriter’s lyrics are personal revelations or tall tales but whomever Danger is speaking for on The Odd Couple is fairly open to introspection. The subject of album closer “A Little Better” shows both a touching vulnerability and defiant personal strength:

Ohhh it’s probably plain to see
That I got a whole lot of pain in me
And it will always remain in me
So cold, it’s a cryin’ shame
Yet here I am, tryin’ again
Cause I refuse to die in vain
The circumstances put soul in me
And there ain’t no holdin’ me
I’ve got a heart made of gold in me
Hah, can you believe this is where I’ve been?
And when adversity comes again
I’ll deal with it then

Few would have predicted that the combination of ‘dirty south’ rapper Cee-Lo with Danger Mouse (the DJ who concocted the “Grey Album” by cross mixing The Beatles’ White and Jay Z’s Black ones) would have lead to a multi-platinum debut. But it did. As for the adversity that comes with making the follow-up? Gnarls Barkley are dealing with it just fine.

Rating Key:
5 – For fans of music
4 – For fans of the genre
3 – For fans of the ban
2 – For fans of disappointment